New residents

Side story: The queen bee's despair

Hello, everyone.

I am the queen of the bees, and others call me a Guttural Bee.

As a queen... I was in quite a predicament.

First of all, I had no guards left.

Normally, when a female bee left to establish a new hive, several guards accompanied her, but all of mine had gone missing after going off to fight a gigantic bear.

Well, there was nothing they could do against a bear like that. They had no chance of winning.

That was why I had suggested we hide, but my guards had bravely charged instead.

Hadn't they gotten their priorities wrong?

Now I was all alone, and it was a tremendous headache.

What was more, a spider was staring right at me.

Spiders were my natural enemies. My ultimate natural enemies. A little spider would have been one thing, but against one that size, I was helpless.

Unlike my guards, I had the sense to run when I couldn't win. Normally, I would have fled immediately in a situation like this, but I couldn't escape. That was because we were staring each other down. Whoever looked away first and ran in this situation would certainly die. That was why I didn't move. In short, I couldn't escape. What was I supposed to do?

No, there was still a glimmer of hope! After all, that spider was only staring at me without moving either.

Could this be what they called... a standoff between powerful opponents? Although I had no stinger as a queen, was my opponent still on guard? And although I couldn't use magic, my guards could.

I could understand why the spider was wary.

...Oh! This might work! Maybe I could make it through!

I raised my fighting spirit and glared right back.

Then I saw a whole lot of similar spiders behind that one.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I must have seen wrong!

It seemed I had miscalculated.

Well, I was done for~ My life ended here~ Ah~ I wondered how they would eat me. I should have licked up more nectar before dying. Also, I wanted to have children.

...All right, I had steeled myself enough. Now I would flee with everything I had!

My escape failed.

Now spider silk was wrapped around my neck. Although I could fly, I was a captive. How humiliating.

If they were going to eat me, I hoped they would make it quick instead of torturing me, preferably in a painless way.

Ah... The best possible development now would be for my guards to return safe and sound and drive the spiders away... but things never worked out that perfectly.

Despair.

That emotion filled my heart. But there was still hope.

Because of humans. A human had arrived!

Oh, I knew about these creatures called humans. They wanted the honey we collected. In other words, they were something like our allies! Normally, my guards chased humans away, but my guards weren't here now.

The human should get rid of the spiders to get me! YES! Good, good, wonderful! Come on, human! Find a way to drive those spiders away for me!

Huh? Why did the human and the spiders seem to be talking so amicably? Didn't humans and spiders normally get along badly? Had I misunderstood?

...How cruel! I had been deceived! They had shown me a glimmer of hope, only to kick me into the abyss of despair! Unforgivable!

...Huh?

After listening to the human, the spider was taking me somewhere. Where was I being taken?

It was a place with a sweet fragrance. Many trees I had never seen were covered in flowers, stretching across a vast area.

I couldn't let my guard down. Perhaps they were showing me a glimmer of hope only to kick me into the abyss of despair again!

The human who had come with the spider was quickly making something out of wood from the forest.

How strange. Could humans work the wood around here so easily? Even my guards took ages just to hollow out a hole in a tree...

What on earth was he making? Could it be my execution ground? How could he be so cruel to me!

I had been mistaken.

It seemed the human was making something like a hive for me.

What was his goal? What humans sought was the honey we collected... Could he be building a hive here for me so he could squeeze honey out of me forever?!

Scary, scary, so scary! But at least that would let me survive! Hope! Enormous hope had returned!

No, but he shouldn't think building a nest in some random place would satisfy me.

This was a really nice place.

Damn it, my body was itching. I wanted to build a nest here! Surely that would be all right?

I glanced at the spider binding me with silk. After a little thought, the spider quietly untied the threads.

Thanks.

I would work hard to have lots of children and collect honey!

So, sorry for the trouble, Mr. Spider, but could you go outside and catch a male bee for me? Yes, the livelier the better.

There should be plenty of male bees flying around outside this season. Yes, sorry for the trouble. No, no, no, I wasn't insisting on a handsome one. Stamina and personality mattered to me. Please.

And so I gained a paradise and became one of life's winners. Well done, what a turnaround!

Although I had to hand over some of the honey I collected, it was a good deal when I considered that the spiders would defeat outside enemies for us.

Symbiosis. Yes, this was called symbiosis. Heh heh heh.

Well, even in a paradise like this, I wasn't completely satisfied yet.

If I had to name a complaint, it was that our favorite flowers didn't grow nearby... Hmm? The human had planted those flowers near the hive.

Sorry, I was so grateful. I would keep working hard.

...Ahem.

L-looking at it another way, this wasn't symbiosis. The spiders and human were working hard for us!

What was wrong with putting it that way?! That was exactly what was happening.

1 Summer came, and so did trouble

Before I knew it, time had passed, and the season when Kuro and the others were busy giving birth had come again.

Although they would manage on their own even without our help, it would still feel awful if the newborn puppies... no, I meant wolf pups, died.

The villagers and I helped them give birth. There hadn't been any stillbirths so far. There hadn't, but...

Well, it would be even better if they could regulate their own birth numbers again starting next year. But perhaps it was fine even if they didn't?

Well, the wolf pups were cute, so I could tolerate it.

It looked like we would have to expand the fields again next year.

Rather than saying construction of the new village was going smoothly, it was more accurate to say there was nothing left for me to help with.

It should have been fine to leave the rest to the new residents... but the problem was that there were no new residents.

The reason for that was simple.

We planned to recruit villagers through Beezel's, Doraim's, and Michael's connections.

We hoped to recruit around thirty people, fifty at most, and the buildings and other facilities had been planned around that number...

To be honest, I hadn't thought we could recruit many people at all.

The more I learned, the more I felt that the Forest of Death had a terrible reputation. Although I was confident that anyone willing to live here would find it a pretty nice place, asking people to move here still required considerable courage and resolve on their part. Empty promises alone wouldn't make anyone want to come.

Unexpectedly, the three groups that wanted to come here totaled over two hundred people. That was far too many at once.

Besides, I had only meant to test the waters, but now three groups wanted to immigrate, forcing me to take action.

"Was there something wrong with how we explained it?"

"I only said there were plans to build a new village and asked whether anyone wanted to move there. Right, the place has a terrible reputation, so it's best not to get your hopes up... Something along those lines."

"That was more or less how I recruited people too."

"Me too... I hadn't even mentioned taxes, so I thought no one would be eager to move. I'm truly sorry."

It was my fault for having Beezel, Doraim, and Michael work on three fronts at once without asking them to stop recruiting in time.

All three were quite busy themselves and had few opportunities to discuss things with me.

Although I wanted to remind them that reporting, communicating, and consulting were the basics of avoiding trouble, even using small wyverns to communicate with the village resulted in delays of several days. It was probably fair to call this unavoidable trouble.

The root of the problem was that I had thought finding people would be difficult, so I asked all three to help at once, estimating that each would recruit around ten people at most. I needed to reflect on that.

Afterward, Beezel, Doraim, and Michael also ran around trying to adjust the number of immigrants, but things didn't go well.

"Even emphasizing that the location is in the Forest of Death won't dissuade the immigrants."

"They even offered to hand over their village's treasure and begged us to let them move."

"They threatened to riot if I didn't agree to let them move here."

It seemed that all the groups wanting a life in a new land had pressing reasons. Even if I asked them to wait or told them outright they couldn't come, they probably wouldn't back down easily.

Even so, I couldn't tell them they were all welcome to hurry over. I couldn't say that, but...

Had I been too naive?

"Let's hurry and finish the new village."

In the end, I accepted all the immigrants.

Currently, I was checking their progress in coming here.

If possible, I wanted to delay their actual move as much as possible, but it probably wouldn't be that easy.

In fact, one group had already begun traveling here.

In that case, I would do everything I could too.

First, I gathered the representatives of the different races for a meeting.

"We'll expand the new village we've already built to accommodate the first group. We'll have to clear separate sites for the other two groups."

I explained the current situation and my thoughts to everyone.

"Can't we just expand the new village and fit all three groups in?"

"From what I've heard, each group consists of a single, different race. Rather than forcing them together, it would probably be more efficient for them to live separately..."

"That's true. Big Tree Village has several races living together, and things are going well... but this is a rare case."

"Considering how the immigrants would feel, living among familiar members of their own race would probably be more reassuring than suddenly being asked to live with other races."

"In that case..."

And so we settled on the plan to choose additional sites and build new villages.

"Where should we build them?"

"There were several other candidate sites when we built the new village, but each had some minor issues."

"Such as?"

"Water sources. We'll have trouble unless we choose somewhere near the waterfall..."

"Because the waterways would be too long?"

"Yes. We could dig wells for water... but we're asking them to come here and farm. Would that provide enough water for irrigation?"

I thought fields cultivated with the Almighty Farming Tool would be fine, but what if they weren't...

"That sounds like a big problem."

There was little rainfall in this forest.

The river apparently had plenty of water thanks to the northern mountain range. In any case, insufficient river water wasn't the issue. The problem was the waterfall's location-in other words, the height of the water.

"Is there some device that can draw water from the river and send it somewhere higher?"

"Some kind of magic item?"

"No, I don't mean that sort of thing... Oh, right, doesn't our village's bathhouse have a waterwheel for drawing water? Something like that."

"Um, I've never seen a device like that... But, Village Chief."

"What is it?"

"Since we already have that waterwheel at the bathhouse, couldn't we just use it to draw water from the river and send it higher?"

I blushed a little.

She was absolutely right. But wait a moment.

"That waterwheel was a failed attempt."

"A failed attempt? Hasn't it been drawing water for the bathhouse all this time?"

"No, you still have to turn that one by hand, right? A real waterwheel should work automatically, using the river's flow to turn itself and draw water up without human labor."

After hearing my explanation, Mea, the Mountain Elf representative, raised her hand.

"I've been interested in that sort of waterwheel for a while. I'll keep trying until I successfully build one."

Mea's offer was a tremendous help.

"Then, assuming the waterwheel gets completed... we won't worry about the waterways for now. We already have several candidate sites for new villages that we can use."

The autumn harvest would soon be upon us. That meant winter was approaching too. Time felt awfully tight.

We hurried on with construction of the new villages.

First, we expanded the nearly completed new village.

Its current capacity was around fifty people, and we needed to double that to accommodate a hundred.

I used the Almighty Farming Tool to clear the forest and expand the village grounds. This work took five days.

Three High Elves, accompanied by several of Kuro's descendants, went to inspect the next candidate site for a new village.

It was ten kilometers south of the first new village. It felt quite far from Big Tree Village.

"Can't we find somewhere closer?"

"If the villages are too close together, they'll run into each other when they expand later. I think even the current planned site is already close enough."

"I see..."

Actually, ten kilometers wasn't as far as it sounded. If both sides expanded by five kilometers, they would border each other. That wasn't impossible.

I also had to consider the direction of the river. Had they deliberately chosen the west for the new village because Big Tree Village's fields were expanding southeast?

Hmm... I would trust that their eye for choosing a site was better than mine.

"Understood. Let's build the second new village here, then."

"Yes. Incidentally, Chief, even provisional names would do, but could you name the previous new village, the one we're building now, and the planned third village?"

"...My taste in names is pretty bad."

"They're only provisional."

"Really? All right, then... How about Upstream Village for the first, Downstream Village for the second, and Midstream Village for the third?"

"Upstream Village, Downstream Village, and Midstream Village? Understood. I'll go tell everyone."

"...Wait!"

Upstream Village, Downstream Village, Midstream Village...

Hmm. Not only were they easy to confuse, I was also worried those names would end up sticking. Better not.

"So you want to change them to Village One, Village Two, and Village Three?"

"If they're provisional, names that sound temporary would be better."

Besides, rather than having me give them terrible names to begin with, leaving it to the future residents would help them feel more attached to their villages.

"Understood. If the future residents ask you to name them, we'll come to you again then."

"If they need me to."

At any rate, the provisional names were settled.

The village we were expanding and adding buildings to was Village One.

The one we were just starting work on was Village Two, and the one planned for afterward was Village Three.

Would Village One, Village Two, and Village Three give people the mistaken impression of a ranking?

Would something like Bell Village, Hill Village, and Valley Village be better? No, they were only provisional. There was no need to think too hard about it.

Right now, I needed to hurry and clear the land for Village Two... But first, I had to make a road.

"Village One is straight north of here, right?"

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble, Chief."

Building the road connecting Village One and Village Two took five days.

Clearing Village Two's land and gathering building materials took fifteen days.

It took longer than expected because we had to put toilets and wells everywhere. Monsters and beasts also attacked extremely frequently.

Was this really a place with relatively few monsters?

Also, thinking about that made me realize that the monsters and beasts around Big Tree Village seemed to have decreased considerably.

No, those rabbits with the long fangs were an exception. We still caught them frequently.

Could their numbers be out of control because we kept defeating the monsters and beasts that preyed on them?

I had to have faith in nature's ability to recover. Maintaining the forest's ecosystem and protecting rare species were too much of a burden for me.

Simply living affected the surrounding environment. Not wasting any of our kills and not hunting excessively were tiring enough on their own.

We deliberately left a large tree in the center of Village Two as well. It had become something of a standard feature.

We would build a shrine beside that tree.

There wasn't enough time this time, so the shrine only had two divine statues. Statues of Kuro, Yuki, and Zabuton would have to wait, but I would definitely add them later.

Now, it was Village Three's turn.

Village Three was farther south than Village Two, at a site about fifteen kilometers down the river.

After hearing an explanation of the proposed site and deciding there were no problems, I began opening a road between Village Two and Village Three.

It took about ten days.

There really were a lot of monsters and beasts here.

Kuro and the others drove most of them away, but they must have had reasons for attacking.

It was survival of the fittest. We would make good use of the monsters and beasts we defeated as food.

Around the time we were about to clear the site for Village Three, the additional buildings in Village One were finished, and the High Elves were moving to Village Two.

That was when the news that had to come sooner or later finally arrived.

"Chief, the prospective immigrants have arrived with Mr. Doraim. Please return to Big Tree Village."

Chapter 2: New Residents, First Group

The first group.

These immigrants had been recruited through Doraim's connections. Dragons such as Doraim, Hakuren, and Rasuti transported them by air.

We had prepared enormous four-legged tables for this not long ago.

Those three would take their dragon forms and carry the tables on their backs, greatly increasing how much they could transport.

The four legs allowed the tables to stand steadily on the ground after the Dragons took human form. This meant cargo could be loaded and unloaded freely whether Doraim was human or dragon, earning high praise for convenience.

This time, however, we added rope nets over the tabletops to keep the immigrants from falling off the enormous four-legged tables.

The sight of three dragons carrying those tables and flying toward the village in formation reminded me of the wyvern attack. It was rather frightening.

There were seventy-two people in this group.

All of them belonged to a race called Minotaurs.

The Minotaurs I knew were giants with bull heads, but the ones before me had ordinary human faces.

The only difference was the large, buffalo-like horns on their heads. Also, the Minotaurs I knew were all male... Or rather, there was only one male, but there were clearly females among these Minotaurs.

Well, this was another world, completely different from my previous one. I shouldn't worry about the details.

I wanted to give Doraim something to thank him for helping with the transport, but he told me to give it directly to the Minotaurs instead and not worry about him.

Perhaps Doraim felt bad about the trouble involved in recruiting villagers.

We were the ones who had asked him. He really didn't need to worry... Hakuren and Rasuti, meanwhile, accepted their thank-you gifts without hesitation.

At any rate, their help had saved us a great deal of effort. Doraim apparently intended to stay with the Minotaurs for a while after bringing them here.

"If I just dropped them off and left, they'd feel uneasy."

True.

I appreciated Doraim's consideration.

"I am Gordon, the immigrants' representative. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Hiraku, the chief of Big Tree Village."

As we exchanged greetings, I considered the condition of the people before me.

There were twenty-eight male and forty-four female Minotaurs. Of those, eight boys and fifteen girls were clearly still children.

In theory, the remaining forty-nine people should have been able to start working immediately...

But all those theoretical workers were skin and bones. One look told me they hadn't eaten properly in some time.

The children were in slightly better shape, perhaps because they had been given priority for food. I couldn't tell them to start working immediately in this condition.

"For now, how about something to eat? I'll have the village prepare it right away."

I had the Minotaurs gather around the martial arts tournament grounds.

I asked the Oni Race maids to prepare and distribute food there.

If possible, something easy on their stomachs... But did their race have any dietary taboos? Fortunately, the Oni Race maids told me not to worry and to leave it to them.

Then I asked Lu, Tia, and Flora to check whether anyone needed treatment.

That should take care of everything, right? No, I hadn't chosen anyone to look after them yet.

If they had to wait for my permission or judgment whenever something happened, help might come too late. I needed to appoint someone specifically responsible for looking after them.

In short, someone to teach them how to adjust to village life. When the Beastmen had arrived, I had left that to Ramurias of the Oni Race, and she was still doing that job.

Then who should guide the Minotaurs...? I hadn't considered that before now.

"Chief, could you entrust me with looking after them?"

One of the lizardmen volunteered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Not these particular people, but I've spent time with Minotaurs before. If no one else in the village knows about them, please leave it to me."

I looked around, and everyone shook their heads to indicate they had no experience. A volunteer would probably be enthusiastic.

"Naf of the lizardmen."

At first, I hadn't even been able to tell the lizardmen apart, but before I knew it, we had spent so much time together.

I was finally learning to distinguish individual lizardmen, though it was still difficult with the newborn children.

"Then I'll leave looking after the Minotaurs to you."

"Thank you."

Leaving the Minotaurs to Naf, I called everyone who could gather at my house together for a discussion.

"We now have a new problem with the new village."

"Indeed."

The High Elves and I were troubled.

"Excuse me, I haven't been to the new village, so I don't know. What sort of problem?"

A Mountain Elf who had been hard at work developing waterwheels in Big Tree Village raised a hand and asked. A High Elf answered:

"The new village was planned to accommodate a hundred people."

Well, actually, it had only been fifty at first, and we had doubled its size later. We had expanded it, yes...

"What's the problem with that? It should be more than enough for the current numbers."

"But that hundred was based on ordinary human builds."

"Oh."

That had been our blind spot. We hadn't considered it at all.

None of the people who had come to the village so far belonged to an extremely large race. However, although these Minotaurs were thin from malnutrition, their enormous frames were obvious.

Leaving aside the children, virtually all the adults were over two meters tall, and the particularly large ones approached three meters.

Then there was the clothing problem.

I didn't know what had happened to them before, but everyone's clothes looked like tattered strips of cloth.

"We'll have to ask Zabuton to rush some work for us."

I glanced at one of Zabuton's children nearby. It raised a leg in acknowledgment, then went back to Zabuton.

"The most urgent problem is probably where they'll sleep tonight."

"Yes. Could we have them sleep outside for now and pray it doesn't rain?"

"That's what I was hoping too..."

However, the autumn harvest was approaching, and I was considering temporarily suspending construction of the new villages.

With winter coming, securing food had to come first. Giving up the harvest wasn't an option.

In the end, we decided to prioritize the harvest and put building their homes afterward. Even if these people could help with harvesting and construction, it was doubtful whether we could finish before winter.

"Um, if their homes aren't finished in time, how about having them live in the Northern Dungeon for the winter? Giants already live there, so it's spacious and would suit their size."

Someone who had gone to investigate the Northern Dungeon made that suggestion.

"It's a good idea, but would the Giants agree?"

"From my impression of them, they're friendly, so it should be fine. However, we'd definitely need to give them something in thanks, and we'd have to bring our own firewood and food for the winter."

"That's reasonable. I'd like to manage on our own as much as possible, but we should prepare for the worst. Would anyone be willing to negotiate with them in advance?"

"Understood. We'll draw up a list of candidates."

"Please do. Also, there's one more thing..."

Food.

"Let's use the village's savings to buy food from Mr. Michael. Some daily necessities, too."

At a glance, the Minotaurs had almost no personal possessions. Only a few carried battered swords or spears.

"Should we prepare weapons too?"

I raised the question, and those around me offered their opinions.

"Still, short of food, dressed in rags, and without any decent belongings... What happened to them?"

"Naf will ask for details, so we should know soon. More importantly, let's discuss today's meals first..."

There was so much to discuss.

But in the middle of it all, another problem arose.

"Chief, the group led by Lord Beezel has arrived."

I suddenly felt dizzy.

Chapter 3: New Residents, Second Group

The second group of immigrants.

They were Centaurs, with the lower bodies of horses, and numbered a hundred and four. Thirty were male and seventy-four female, with thirty boys and thirty-four girls clearly still children.

That left about forty adults who could work... All of them female.

Those working-age adults all wore leather or metal armor and carried weapons, looking ready to fight at any moment as they kept a wary eye on their surroundings. Even the children wore armor, though they had no weapons.

The atmosphere made me think they were refugees who had fled a war zone.

"Beezel, who are they?"

Beezel was the one who had brought them to me.

He had used mass teleportation magic to bring them here all at once from the village outskirts, and now he was exhausted.

I would have him rest at Frau's house afterward, but first, there were things I needed to ask.

"As you can see, they're refugees who fled a city caught up in war."

"Did you recruit soldiers who were still fighting as immigrants?"

"How could I? The front lines were constantly shifting, and some areas could fall into danger at any moment, so I approached them about immigrating under the pretext of evacuating elsewhere."

"And then the fighting really spread there halfway through the talks?"

"Exactly. Since we were already halfway through the talks, I couldn't just abandon them."

"...Who was their enemy?"

"The Kingdom of Fullheart."

That was the human nation currently at war with the Demon King Kingdom.

"I'll do what I can to help them too. I'll leave the rest to you."

"All right."

Beezel was also nearing his physical limit, so I asked the lizardmen to take him to Frau's house.

Now, next...

It was time to check on the Centaurs.

They hadn't lowered their guard and remained ready to fight at any moment. It would be a real problem for me if this continued.

"I'm Hiraku, the representative of this village. Who is your representative?"

"I am. My name is Gruwald."

A woman stepped forward. She was a female knight wearing what looked like the finest iron armor among them, but her lower body was that of a horse.

Oh, the Centaurs wore clothes over their horse halves too. From the front, they looked like ordinary humans.

"I'm a relative of the head retainer of Viscount Beezel's household. What are you staring at?"

"Ah...sorry."

Who was Viscount Beezel?

At a time like this, I should turn to Frau...but Beezel had gone to her house to rest. Then I'd turn to the Civil Servant Girls instead! Please help me out.

Noticing my gaze, one of the civil servant girls nodded and stepped up beside me.

"Welcome to Big Tree Village. This territory enjoys friendly relations with Earl Chrome, who brought you here, so please rest assured."

Earl Chrome?...Oh, that meant Beezel.

"We were invited to settle here. Have you heard about that?"

"We have, but we should also have informed you of our difficulties with the timing of your arrival."

"Hmph. Find a way to deal with it."

"Miss Gruwald, what was your purpose in coming to this village? If you intend to acquire new territory, please abandon that idea."

"You little girl, how dare a mere village girl order me around?"

"Forgive me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Rasuti Droim, the second daughter of Earl Droim of the Demon King Kingdom."

One of the civil servant girls-Rasuti-lifted her skirt slightly and gave Gruwald an elegant curtsy.

Though dressed as a village girl, her movements exuded nobility.

Overwhelmed by her aristocratic bearing, I unconsciously stepped back into the position of her attendant.

"Viscount Beezel belongs to the western faction and serves under our family, doesn't he? May I ask what your connection to his household is?"

"P-please forgive my earlier rudeness. My name is Gral Rabie Cole, and I am a relative of the head retainer of Viscount Beezel's household."

In terms of status, Rasuti seemed to be far above her.

"As I said earlier, you can rest assured. There is no need to keep holding your weapons."

"M-my deepest apologies!"

Gruwald immediately ordered the Centaurs to disarm.

That put me at ease too. First, I ought to praise Rasuti.

"Thank you for your praise. Village Chief, they seem a little unsettled. To help them calm down, why don't we give them a meal first, as we did with the Minotaurs?"

"Don't worry. I've already given the instructions."

"Just what I'd expect of you, Village Chief. Also, since they have some ties to my family, could you let me take charge of looking after them?"

"Sure. That would be a huge help. I'll leave them to you, then."

"Leave it to me."

"But there's one more thing..."

"What is it?"

"If they have ties to your family, doesn't that mean your family is in danger too? Will they be all right?"

"Lord Beezel has already passed the relevant information on to me. For now, there are no problems."

"Really?"

"But if the situation changes in the future, I'll have to ask for your help, Village Chief."

"All right. Understood."

I left the Centaurs with the civil servant girl Rasuti and went back to continue discussing how to accommodate the immigrants with everyone.

"Now then, Miss Gruwald."

"Yes!"

"Very good. If you'd answered like that from the start, there wouldn't have been a problem..."

"Please forgive my earlier insolence."

"No, there's no need for that. I'm not here to reprimand you. I understand that your earlier attitude was meant to protect the children. You must have endured great hardships on your journey here."

"Yes..."

"Just as promised beforehand, Big Tree Village is making preparations to accommodate you. However, it won't be here, but in another newly built village. Work on that village is currently being rushed along."

"I have already heard about that. But could I ask that you at least let the children stay in this village first?"

"Only the village chief can decide that. Oh, that's right. I forgot to tell you something important."

"What is it?"

"The most important person in this village is the village chief."

"The village chief...you mean that man from earlier?"

"Exactly. Also, unfortunately, my standing in this village is extremely low. No, you could probably say I'm at the very bottom."

"How could that be? You're Earl Droim's daughter..."

"Earl Chrome brought you here personally, yet I have to listen to your requests directly. Think about it. In this village, my standing is at the very bottom. That's the sort of village this is."

"..."

"Well, it seems words alone won't convince you. Go and have your meal first. That is the village chief's kindness, so please remember to be grateful. Once you've eaten, I'll show a few of you around the village so you can get a feel for how things actually are here."

I returned home and resumed the meeting.

"They were so rude. Are we really going to accept them?"

One of the High Elves who had accompanied me asked that.

"I don't think they were quite rude...I mean, you can't blame them for being wary in unfamiliar territory."

"Perhaps..."

"Let's hope Rasuti can smooth things over between us. More importantly, we have a pressing problem."

A pressing problem.

The second group of immigrants, the Centaurs, were a race whose lower bodies were horses, and those lower bodies were the same size as actual horses. In other words, they were enormous. Roughly speaking, they were about the same size as the Minotaurs.

Moreover, with horse lower bodies, they would have difficulty living in houses built for humans. Not only would the corridors be too narrow to get through, but the size of the toilets and the shape of the fixtures wouldn't suit them either.

Wasn't this exactly the same predicament as with the Minotaurs?

"Village Chief, where are you going?"

"I thought I'd go make toilets suitable for the Minotaurs and Centaurs first."

"I'm very sorry, but that can wait until later. Please rest assured. We all know how much you value hygiene, so I'll tell both groups that they must relieve themselves in designated places."

"Hmm."

"By the way, Village Chief."

"What is it?"

"Is there a reason you aren't letting Kuro, Zabuton, and the others appear before the Minotaurs and Centaurs?"

"Doraim and Beezel advised me about that. People get on edge when they're nervous, so it would be better not to let those two groups see Kuro and Zabuton yet. That's why I asked Kuro and the others to stay in the forest as much as possible, and Zabuton and the others to stay up in the trees or on the rooftops. Only a few have stayed behind to relay messages."

At my words, one of Zabuton's children slid down a thread from the ceiling, raised a leg and waved, then climbed back up.

"A very wise decision."

"They'll still come out and move around at night, though. More importantly, you'd better prepare yourselves."

"Why?"

"The first and second groups both arrived ahead of schedule, so don't be surprised if the third group arrives early too."

"Surely that won't happen."

"Ha ha ha...hmm? It looks like someone really is coming."

"Ha ha ha. You do love your jokes, Village Chief."

"I hope it really is a joke..."

"Village Chief, we've received word from Miss Gran Maria. She encountered the settlers Mr. Michael helped recruit in the forest. They should arrive very soon."

I knew it.

4 New Residents: The Third Group

The third group of immigrants.

We'd already welcomed Minotaurs and Centaurs. What half-human race would be next?

While I was thinking about such pointless things, the immigrants Mr. Michael had introduced arrived, so I went to the entrance of my house to welcome them.

What Mr. Michael had found turned out to be a group of beautiful women and tree stumps.

"Uh..."

The beautiful women were between about 150 and 170 centimeters tall, within the normal human range.

That reassured me for the moment.

As for their ages, they looked to be in their teens and twenties. Anyone with a normal sense of beauty would undoubtedly consider their refined features beautiful, and their figures weren't bad either. No, they were positively exquisite.

My first impression was of a group of women who worked in nightlife, but their clothes weren't in that style. They dressed like ordinary village girls. Honestly, wearing that was a waste.

As for their numbers...about forty?

There were also about ten tree stumps...but why were there tree stumps here? I thought my Almighty Farming Tool had long since turned the trees around here into fertile soil.

As that question crossed my mind, a stump suddenly spoke.

"I am Ig, their representative. Thank you very much for accepting us."

A talking tree stump?

After asking for details, I learned that those in the form of tree stumps were also immigrants.

Both the beautiful women and the tree stumps belonged to the same race, called Tree Elves. From what I knew, they were probably similar to dryads, the forest nymphs of Greek mythology.

I'd assumed their different forms indicated different sexes, but I was wrong. The stumps were female too.

In other words, they were all women.

"Have you interacted with humans before?"

At my question, the beautiful women simply maintained their gentle smiles without answering. This was an important point.

"Village Chief, please don't be impatient. We will prove our race's loyalty through our actions in the future."

"Prove your loyalty through your actions?...Y-you've misunderstood! No, I didn't mean that kind of interaction! Please don't get the wrong idea!"

Once I calmed down, I realized they didn't look as though they were in a crisis. Compared with the Minotaurs and Centaurs, they looked much more normal.

"For now, please have a meal. Is ordinary food all right?"

"We appreciate your kindness. However, we have already made inquiries about immigrating here. You needn't trouble yourself over our food."

"That's reassuring to hear. So you've brought your own food?"

"No, we haven't. However, as long as you put us somewhere sunny and water us regularly, we'll have enough to eat."

"I see..."

Somewhere sunny.

Well, within the village, anywhere far enough from the giant tree, buildings, and forest should get plenty of sunlight. As for watering...we had river water. So, putting those together...where would be best...

While I was still thinking, they offered a suggestion.

"Around those fields over there would be fine. Please, we won't interfere with the crops."

Their representative, Ig, said that, so I let them rest there.

At a glance, leaving the stumps aside, the sight of a group of beautiful women standing at equal intervals in a ring around the fields was far too strange.

But they seemed satisfied, so I had nothing to say.

...Still, the stumps standing there bothered me, so I gave them a warning just in case.

"If you grow roots, I'll cut them off."

Several of the stumps seemed to shudder violently for a moment...I decided to pretend I hadn't seen it.

The Tree Elves apparently came from the direction of Good Forest Village to the east, crossing mountains and passing through the forest.

They actually possessed the ability to merge with plants, and didn't get involved in conflicts with monsters and beasts. However, they apparently had trouble avoiding monsters and beasts marking their trunks. Put simply, that meant being sprayed with urine or having claw marks scratched into them.

Their dulled sense of pain meant it didn't hurt, but once the surface of their trunks was scratched by claws, they couldn't take human form until it healed. That was why some of them were tree stumps.

I see.

In other words, their true forms were tree stumps. Also, I casually suggested that they take a bath.

Though there was no smell of urine, it still felt a little unpleasant. Did they dislike hot water because they were tree stumps? A cold shower would be fine too. In any case, I wanted them to wash themselves properly.

Several hours later-

After eating and bathing, Ig, the Tree Elves' representative, met with me again.

Apparently, their reason for moving to the village was that their previous habitat had been destroyed, so they wanted to find a new home.

I heard that people from a nearby village had cut down too much of the forest, causing large-scale flooding that forced them to leave.

Just as they were considering a new home, they happened to hear Mr. Michael's invitation and decided to move here...

Apparently, they had not decided simply on Mr. Michael's word. The fruit from our village that he had brought along had been the deciding factor.

"The place you're encouraging us to move to can grow fruit like this... apples and pears?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Everyone, prepare to move. No dawdling."

Mr. Michael had only gone to sound them out, so he had suddenly panicked. I had heard him mention that before.

Afterward, Mr. Michael had pleaded with them not to come all at once, but there was no stopping the Tree Elves' departure anymore.

Incidentally, Mr. Michael was in Shashaato Town preparing supplies for the Tree Elves' relocation.

It looked like I would also have to ask him to procure clothing, weapons, daily necessities, and food for the Minotaurs and Centaurs.

"Still, if you came to our village for the fruit, it was rather rude of me not to offer you some earlier."

Ig, the Tree Elf, was being carried by another of her kind who had taken human form.

That was because she moved extremely slowly in stump form.

I understood, but a sweet-looking girl carrying a tree stump still seemed like an odd combination.

"Please don't concern yourself. We didn't come for the fruit."

"You didn't?"

"Indeed. We came here for the soil."

"The soil?"

"Soil that can grow such plump fruit must be wonderfully fertile. Now that we're here, it truly is impressive. So please, let us plant ourselves here."

"You've already come all this way. How could I refuse... I see, so it was the soil."

It was probably because the soil had been tilled with the Almighty Farming Tool.

"Understood. In that case, I hope our soil won't disappoint you."

"Indeed. I already saw the fields earlier, and frankly, I'm very envious. I hope the soil we live in will be like that."

"Ha ha ha, so all you need is somewhere like the fields to live?"

...Huh? Wait a minute.

"We'll prepare fields in the village you're moving to, of course... but don't you live in houses?"

"We can live in houses, but we prefer the outdoors."

"Surely indoors would be better."

"We like the outdoors."

Don't panic. It's not time to panic yet. Still, I suddenly feel so tired.

I had already decided who would look after the Tree Elves.

"This is Ig. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

"My name is Mam. The village chief appointed me to look after you. If you have any difficulties with daily life, please let me know at any time. I look forward to working with you."

I had appointed one of the Beastmen to look after the Tree Elves.

That was because she had strongly wanted the position. Although Mam still looked like a middle schooler, Sena, the Beastmen's representative, had assured me she could handle it, so I had agreed to appoint her.

"The pleasure is mine."

Ig raised a root and shook hands with Mam.

"Mam, sorry, but could you ask Ig and the others about their circumstances? What kind of place they'd like to live in, what work they'd like to do, what they're good at, what they're not good at, and also..."

"Their race's taboos and customs?"

"Exactly."

"Understood. I'll also tell them a little about the village while I'm at it."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Yes, Mam seemed dependable.

After leaving the Tree Elves in Mam's care, I returned home. There were still plenty of things I needed to discuss with everyone.

...There are way too many problems.

5 Discussions

I knew there were still plenty of problems. Taking in so many people had been far beyond our capacity to begin with, and they had arrived early on top of that.

Still, since we had decided to do our best to take them all in, we could only grit our teeth and keep going. It was causing trouble for the village's existing residents too, and I hoped they would understand.

That evening, I gathered the representatives of each race for a discussion.

The representatives of the Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Tree Elves were accompanied by Naf, Rasuti, and Mam, who were responsible for their respective groups. Doraim and Beezel also joined the meeting.

Some of the existing villagers objected to the newcomers joining the discussions right away, but I wanted everyone to solve the problems together.

Besides, they were no longer guests. Though they would live in other villages, they were still new residents.

"I'm Gordon, the Minotaurs' representative."

"I am Gruwald, the Centaurs' representative."

"I'm Ig, the Tree Elves' representative."

Ig had been carried to the meeting by a Tree Elf in human form.

I had originally thought Mam could carry her, but apparently she was too heavy for her.

Still, it really was fortu-

nate that each of the three groups of immigrants consisted of a single race. It made referring to them convenient.

Their racial representatives could also serve as representatives for their immigrant groups.

Previously, everyone had gathered around a large round table for meetings, but with huge people like the Minotaurs and Centaurs present this time, we had removed the table.

The participants sat on log stools, while some sat on the floor.

"Before we begin the discussion proper, may I say something?"

Gruwald, the Centaurs' representative, raised her hand and spoke.

"When I first arrived and met everyone, I failed to understand my position and behaved rudely. I am truly sorry. Please give me an opportunity to apologize. Also, I alone bear full responsibility for this matter. I beg you on my knees not to let it affect the others of my race."

Gruwald stood up, bent her front legs to lower her body, and bowed her head deeply. Since she had not bent her hind legs, her rear remained raised... Was this how Centaurs apologized? I would ask later.

"I didn't really consider it rude, but I accept your apology. Please don't wor... ahem, just be more careful in the future."

I had intended to say, "Please don't worry about it," but Rasuti, who was beside Gruwald, had written instructions on a wooden board, so I had followed them.

Who? Who taught her to use cue cards?!

"Yes, thank you very much. I'll be more careful in the future."

Gruwald had not noticed Rasuti's cue card and simply expressed her gratitude to me.

"I look forward to seeing your work."

That was another instruction from Rasuti.

"Understood!"

Perhaps satisfied with Gruwald's answer, Rasuti flipped the board over.

"That's our village chief! Superb acting! Always the bearing of a king!"

Well, thank you.

But the people beside me can see that cue card too. Lu, Tia, no laughing.

The discussion continued.

For now, the most urgent question was where the newcomers would sleep.

Although everyone said they were fine sleeping outdoors, I wanted at least the children to sleep somewhere with a roof.

There were three spacious places with roofs in the village.

My house, the inn, and the brewery.

Though they were all fairly large, the answer to whether they had enough room for everyone was definitely NO.

I know, I know. I won't touch the brewery, so stop glaring at me, Donovan.

"Let's open up the inn. Give the children priority for resting inside."

We also needed to find somewhere for the other adults to spend the night soon.

It did not sit well with me that only the existing villagers could sleep under roofs while the newcomers slept outside.

"We're sleeping outdoors at present, but for now, simply letting us use our current spot will be enough."

The Minotaurs wanted to sleep around the martial arts tournament stage for the time being.

"We only need somewhere the cows or horses stay."

The Centaurs wanted to stay in the pasture area.

"We can sleep anywhere as long as we get sunlight."

The Tree Elves said anywhere was fine.

Which meant...

"The Minotaurs and Centaurs may spend the night where they wish. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to tell the person looking after you."

"Understood."

"Yes!"

"Naf, Rasuti, try to stay with the new residents as much as possible outside of sleeping hours. Also, you'll be staying at my house for the time being."

"Understood... but we're sleeping at your house, Chief?"

"Why is that?"

"That way, it'll be easier for the Minotaurs and Centaurs to find you."

"I see. Understood."

"I'll do that."

"As for the Tree Elves, you're free to sleep wherever you like. The only place off-limits is the fields. Also, make sure to contact Mam regularly so you don't inconvenience anyone."

"Understood."

"Mam, this will be a demanding job, but I'm counting on you."

"Yes, I'll do my best."

"Then you can stay at my house for now too, Mam. Is that all right?"

"That's fine... but I'll need to go home briefly to let Ramurias know."

"No problem. Ann, please prepare rooms for those three."

"Yes."

Then we continued discussing various matters.

First, we would leave the completed Village One alone for now.

Everyone would help with the harvest first.

Afterward, if time allowed, we would continue building Village Two and Village Three. Once Village Two's houses were finished, at least one group of immigrants could move in.

For now, we would go in order of arrival, with the Minotaurs living in Village Two and the Centaurs in Village Three.

After that, we would build Village Four for the Tree Elves.

Doraim and Beezel also agreed to visit frequently to check on the Minotaurs and Centaurs and help put them at ease. I was truly grateful to them.

The harvesting began.

Everyone who could help joined in the work. Those who could not help with the harvest went hunting in the forest.

A new problem arose.

Most of the Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Tree Elves could not hunt the monsters and beasts in the forest.

"They looked so strong."

"Please don't say that. The Minotaurs are actually a very gentle race."

Naf, who was looking after the Minotaurs, began explaining.

"Not everyone in the group is a combat type. Instead, those with enhanced fighting abilities protect the whole group. So while Minotaurs who specialize in combat are strong, those who aren't combat types are much like ordinary, simple folk."

"Minotaurs who specialize in combat... are they trained from childhood?"

"No, apparently it's determined at birth. However, it seems they have to grow to a certain age before that can be confirmed."

"I see. Then among the Minotaurs who came to the village, the combat specialists are..."

"Two others besides their representative, Gordon, but they're both still children."

"So right now, only Gordon can enter the forest."

"Yes."

"It would be awful if we forced the others into the forest and they got hurt. Let's find other work for them."

"I'm very sorry. Thank you for the trouble."

"How many of the Centaurs can enter the forest?"

"Only seven adults, including Gruwald. The children can't."

Rasuti, who was looking after the Centaurs, explained.

"But doesn't everyone except the children have basic weapons?"

"They're armed, but ultimately, they're just ordinary people gathered together to protect the children."

"Then the seven who can enter the forest are trained warriors?"

"No, only Gruwald and one other have received proper training. The rest... would probably struggle. I'm sorry, this is all based on what they told me..."

"I see. It sounds like they're afraid to enter the forest too."

"Yes. So I hope everyone besides Gruwald and the other trained warrior can be assigned different work."

"Understood. Let me give it some more thought."

"Thank you very much."

I understood the Tree Elves' situation too.

They had techniques for escaping, but no fighting ability whatsoever.

"No, they're actually quite capable fighters, and their magic is powerful too."

"Really?"

"Yes. However, they don't actively hunt. They're more inclined to wait for prey to come to them, so we can't expect them to bring in much game."

"Ah, I see."

"Leaving aside when they take human form, moving around as stumps is extremely difficult."

"True. Still, even a small amount of game would help us."

"Yes. Also, we'll probably need to assign them an area where Kuro and the others don't go, or they'll have trouble getting any results."

"Because they don't actively move around, right? Understood. I'll discuss the assigned areas with Kuro and the others."

"Sorry for the trouble, Village Chief."

And so, everyone who couldn't enter the forest needed to be assigned new work.

The Minotaurs were put in charge of transporting the harvested crops. Men and women alike were quite strong, so I had them carry the crops into the storehouses.

The Centaurs were put in charge of preparing places to sleep outdoors. To keep out the sun and rain, a large sheet of cloth would have to be stretched overhead. They would prepare not only their own sleeping area, but the Minotaurs' as well. I also asked them to look after the Minotaur children while they were at it.

As for the Tree Elves, they all moved to the area around Village Two. I asked them to hunt there.

Everyone was doing unfamiliar work, but I hoped they would all give it their best.

On the first day, none of the new residents who went hunting in the forest brought anything back, apart from the Tree Elves.

Three of them were injured, too.

They were Gordon, Gruwald, and another Centaur.

"...Are rabbits with fangs really that hard to fight?"

"Um... for an ordinary person, encountering an opponent like that means all hope is lost."

After hearing the Civil Servant Girls' explanation, I decided not to send them into the forest to work tomorrow.

"While we're on the subject... can you defeat Fang Rabbits?"

"Please don't joke about that. I'm an ordinary person, too."

Chapter 6: A race against time

The harvest proceeded at a tremendous pace.

It was a race against winter. No one knew when the weather would turn cold.

I had the Civil Servant Girls tally the harvested crops and store them in the storehouses.

I thought we should avoid selling too many crops this year, but that was hard to avoid with people we had ties to.

First, we had to attend Good Forest Village's exchange market, held under the pretext of trade.

Guraru and his group, who had been staying in the village lately, would leave with them and return home at the same time.

"Thank you for taking care of us all this time."

"Did I? As I recall, you spent almost all your time at your daughters' homes. I don't remember taking care of you."

"Hahaha, that's true, but you did at least provide us with food and drink. Yes, this really is a wonderful village."

"...Have you said your goodbyes to your daughters?"

"Yes. It's a shame, but our wives and other daughters are waiting in Good Forest Village."

"As long as they're staying in this village, I'll take good care of them. You don't need to worry."

"I know. I'm deeply grateful that you accepted my... no, our daughters."

"Well, come stay again when you have time."

"Yes, we certainly will."

Tia and Rasuti handled the trade with Good Forest Village.

They both worked hard.

Next, we had to send some of the harvest to Doraim, Death, and Raimeiren as harvest-season gifts.

Why do that when we were already at risk of a food shortage? In truth, it was largely a matter of selling to them for money.

I sent those crops in the hope of receiving gifts in return. Expecting return gifts might sound mercenary, but the point was to quickly turn the crops into cash and jewels.

The trade with Beezel was the same: food in exchange for cash.

Then we transported crops to Mr. Michael's shop in Shashaato Town and purchased food with the proceeds and our existing savings.

Since we had discussed it in advance, all the food we wanted was ready.

"Isn't it a little strange to sell crops and then buy food?"

One of the Civil Servant Girls sent to Mr. Michael's shop asked that, but the real reason was that we currently needed quantity more than quality.

I understood why she felt it was a needless extra step, so I brought back a little more seafood rather than grain.

The goal was for everyone to make it safely through winter.

Once spring came, each village would start farming on its own, and things wouldn't be so tight.

...Wait. Can the Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Tree Elves farm?

Still, they had lived elsewhere before, so I figured they would be fine.

...I never asked them about farming. Will they have trouble? The Tree Elves seem more likely to have problems.

Assigning villagers unsuitable work would reduce efficiency... Next time, I would have a proper discussion with them about farming.

More and more food was brought into the village.

I had wanted to build new storehouses for it, but there was no time for that yet. For now, I would simply dig a few cellars and put the food inside.

Once the harvest and food trading were finished, I sent everyone who had no more work to hurry along construction in Village Two.

First came large houses for the Minotaurs. For simplicity and speed of construction, they would all be single-story buildings. Interior fittings could come later. The roofs came first, then the walls, along with measures to keep out the winter cold.

With the Minotaurs themselves joining the construction work, progress was remarkably fast. I also went to help install wells and toilets in Village Two.

Although I returned to Big Tree Village every day, more than half the people working there stayed overnight in Village Two.

There was a fair distance between Big Tree Village and Village Two, after all, so this saved travel time.

Also, a considerable number of Kuro's descendants and Zabuton's children had moved to the area around Village Two to protect the workers. As a result, Big Tree Village felt a little deserted.

Although the adult Minotaurs stayed in Village Two to work on construction, their children remained in Big Tree Village.

The Centaurs looked after them.

As their appearance suggested, the Centaurs were very good at running at high speed. Their preferred fighting style was also to build up speed and charge, using mobile hit-and-run tactics. They used their ability to keep their distance from opponents to attack one-sidedly from afar. All of that depended on their speed.

I now understood that Gruwald and the others had been unable to handle even rabbits in the forest because they had no room to run.

Give them somewhere they could run, and they would be extremely formidable.

So I asked them to handle transport and communications between Big Tree Village and Village Two.

They didn't need to defeat any monsters or beasts they encountered along the way; they only had to run away. So rather than leaving the work to Gruwald and the other warrior alone, all the adult Centaurs took part.

Generally, they traveled swiftly along the road in groups of five.

It took them about thirty minutes to leave Big Tree Village, pass through Village One, and reach Village Two.

Was that about forty kilometers an hour? When I asked, they said they could run faster, but there was no need to push themselves that hard.

Still, I was curious about their top speed, so we tried a maximum-speed run once. They made it from Big Tree Village to Village Two in about twenty minutes. Amazing.

"Um, Village Chief, I noticed you keep horses in the pasture. Do you ride them to get around?"

"Hm? Oh, I can ride... though perhaps I should say the horse just carries me. It doesn't really follow my directions."

Could Gruwald talk to horses?

If she can, should I ask her to tell the horse to follow my directions from now on? Or ask whether it has any complaints about me? Maybe it hates the name I gave it. I don't have the slightest confidence in my talent for naming things.

What, you can't talk to horses? I see. That's a shame.

"Um, Village Chief, would you like to try riding me?"

"Huh?"

"I think it should be easier than riding a horse."

"Um, but..."

Gruwald's lower body looked like a horse. Yes, it was definitely a horse.

Looking at her back, it seemed I could ride on it. Even so...

"Are you really all right with letting me ride you?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Gruwald bent her legs and crouched, so I accepted her offer and straddled her back.

Then Gruwald stood up.

It was high. Just as high as riding an ordinary horse.

"I'll start moving now."

Gruwald began walking.

Her back rose and fell beneath my backside. Yes, that felt just like riding an ordinary horse, too.

"I'll pick up the pace a little."

Oh, now this is horseback riding.

"I'm going to run now."

She was so fast it scared me out of my wits. Without a saddle or stirrups, it felt dangerous.

After that, whenever I went to Village Two, I asked Gruwald to give me a ride.

Gran Maria and the others looked at Gruwald with a little jealousy. So did Kuro and the others.

I could understand how Gran Maria and the others felt, but I had never ridden Kuro or any of the others.

The horse was sulking.

Um, sorry. It's not that I don't want you anymore, but you never follow my directions.

It took some effort to put the horse in a better mood.

I would try not to let the horse see me riding Gruwald in the future.

"Village Chief, waterwheel prototype number six is complete. I think this one will definitely work!"

The Mountain Elves' waterwheel development wasn't going well.

Prototypes one and two wouldn't turn at all. Number three turned, but couldn't draw water properly.

Number four did well at both turning and drawing water, but after a few days, the prolonged turning warped it and it broke. Its insufficient water output was another major problem.

Number five was made so heavy in the pursuit of durability that it didn't turn smoothly.

And now came prototype number six.

Based on number four, which had turned the most smoothly, it had an iron axle for greater durability. To increase the amount of water it drew, it had also become quite large.

Its diameter was over three meters.

They had reduced its overall weight as much as possible, but still needed Rasuti to turn into a dragon and carry it to the installation site.

I built a base beside the river to hold the waterwheel, and we placed it there.

Even the base had taken three attempts to complete.

"Position checked, all clear! We're lowering the waterwheel!"

Almost all the Mountain Elves had gathered to watch the waterwheel installation.

The waterwheel came down with a thud, its axle fitting precisely into the recesses in the base.

Then... under

the push of the river's current, the waterwheel slowly began to move.

Cheers erupted. But no water came up with it, and a gloomy air of failure soon settled over everyone.

"Ah!"

The waterwheel had been installed backward.

Of course it couldn't draw water that way.

We took some time to reinstall it, then checked its operation again.

It successfully drew the amount of water originally planned.

"Wonderful. This is wonderful."

The Mountain Elves shed tears of emotion.

"We thought it would be easy at first, so we underestimated the work."

"I never imagined we'd have to account for the weight of the wood, too..."

"Wah... But I'm so happy now."

"There should still be three things we can improve."

"At any rate, we can celebrate for now."

"No, wait. Don't we still need to build two more waterwheels just like this?"

Although it was unclear whether farming would go smoothly, being able to draw water from the river would certainly prove useful in the future.

I hoped everyone would keep working hard.

About forty days after the harvest ended, we had built around twenty-five large single-story houses.

Since the Minotaurs moved into each house as soon as it was finished, all the problem areas had already been identified and improved.

With that, I supposed we could say the Minotaurs' housing problem was resolved.

As for the original backup plan of having the Minotaurs spend the winter in the Northern Dungeon, that was now passed directly to the Centaurs.

"If possible, we'd like to stay here through winter."

I wanted very much to grant Gruwald's wish, but the bitter winter cold was harsh.

One or two people would have been one thing, but the Centaurs numbered over a hundred, including the children.

"Let's speed up construction of Village Three."

We could only do as much as possible before winter arrived.

Chapter 7: Used to it?

The Tree Elves might have been more self-sufficient than I had imagined.

The best part was not needing to prepare food especially for them. Well, they could still eat and drink, but as long as they had sunlight, moisture, and good soil, they apparently could sustain themselves.

They also hunted by waiting for prey to come to them. With astonishing patience, they could wait in the same spot for days until prey walked into their trap.

Simply put, they needed no looking after, as long as I granted their requests.

"You can sunbathe here."

"Tree Elves in human form, please don't run around completely naked."

"You look like you're parasitizing other trees... Seriously? Well, that's fine, but don't touch the tree in the middle of the village..."

Not needing to look after them didn't mean they required no attention at all.

I had originally had the Tree Elves hunt around Village Two, but once construction began there, the Kuros serving as guards would head over, and the Tree Elves would have to return to the area around Village One.

However, some of the Tree Elves remained on standby in Big Tree Village and Village Two.

They were on standby to serve as alarms and light sources.

The Tree Elves apparently could communicate telepathically with others of their kind within a certain distance. Though it was telepathy, they couldn't convey anything too complicated, only their current location and simple messages like "satisfied," "dissatisfied," "safe," and "danger."

What I valued were the "current location" and "danger" parts. If they sent a "danger" signal from a village, we could tell that something had happened there.

It wasn't particularly precise, but it should prevent the tragedy of a new village being attacked by monsters and beasts and wiped out without us knowing when it had happened.

That was the alarm I wanted.

As for lighting, the Tree Elves could glow when they turned into stumps. Since they were stumps, all they needed to do was sprout some greenery and bloom with beautiful flowers at a suitable height to become dreamlike night-lights.

Given their preference for the outdoors, they couldn't serve as streetlights, but they made good village lights, establishing a place for themselves in the villages.

"Mam, have the Tree Elves asked for anything?"

"Several things, but they're all things I can handle. The main problem is actually... their clothing habits."

"Right."

The Tree Elves apparently were a race that normally went completely naked.

Naturally, that held true when they turned into people, too. Only after asking did I learn that the ill-fitting clothes they had worn when they first arrived had all been gifts from Mr. Michael.

"We'll have to thank Mr. Michael for that."

"Yes. So, what should we do about this? I've already made it a priority to persuade them as much as I can..."

Apparently, they took off their clothes when they turned into stumps, and they went hunting completely naked, too.

Their figures were too good for me to easily pretend I hadn't noticed.

"Tell them they're required to wear clothes when they're in human form and in the village. If they're in their own homes, I won't make them."

"Understood."

"It's a bit late to ask now, but did you find out why the Minotaurs came to the village?"

I had been so busy that I had forgotten about it.

"Yes, I've found out."

Naf, who was in charge of looking after the Minotaurs, answered.

"Did you know that Mr. Gordon and the others raised silkworms where they used to live, Chief?"

"No, I only heard they were ordinary farmers... So they were silkworm farmers?"

I had previously worried that the Minotaurs might not be able to farm, so I had specifically checked.

I remembered Gordon confidently assuring me then that they had been farmers, so it wouldn't be a problem.

"Yes. They grew other crops as well, but silkworm farming was the main reason they emigrated."

"...Hmm? What happened? Did all their silkworms die of disease?"

"No, their cocoon business apparently did very well, but the lord governing the area exploited them."

"Exploited them?"

"Because the cocoons fetched high prices, the lord ordered them to increase production."

"Oh, I see."

I could understand how the lord felt. If a business made money, you certainly would want to increase production.

"However, even with orders from above to increase production, the number of silkworms couldn't suddenly grow."

"Of course not."

"The lord flew into a rage over that and decided to raise their tax rate..."

"...Huh? Raise their tax rate? That lord really was incompetent."

"Exactly. Mr. Gordon and the others worked hard for three years, but they couldn't hold on, and finally decided to abandon their village and flee."

In the end, the lord had become blinded by a profitable business in his domain, and had even driven his own golden goose to abandon its village and run away...

"After that, they wandered from place to place, and luckily made contact with one of Mr. Doraim's subordinates. That was when they decided to move here."

I see. No wonder they had all been so thin when they first arrived.

"Personally, I'm very glad they can live in peace in Village Two."

"Absolutely. We'll all have to work even harder so they can settle down."

"Understood."

"By the way, what country did that incompetent lord belong to? Don't tell me it was the Kingdom of Fullheart?"

"No, it wasn't that much of a coincidence. I don't remember the country's name, but it's a distant country farther west than the Kingdom of Fullheart. Shall I ask them again?"

"No, there's no need to make them remember the past. I was just a little curious."

I shouldn't blame every bad thing on the Kingdom of Fullheart. It must have been because the country had given me such a bad impression before.

Work was currently being rushed on Village Three, where the Centaurs were scheduled to live.

I first cleared the land with the Almighty Farming Tool, and then the High Elves, Lizardmen, and Minotaurs helped build the homes.

Like the Minotaurs' homes, they were mainly single-story houses.

Since our physiques differed greatly from those of the Centaurs, whose lower bodies were horses, we first tried building a small one to identify all the problems.

"The passages are too narrow. One person can barely squeeze through like this, and two people can't pass each other."

"The doorknobs should be higher up. The height of the windows needs adjusting, too."

"It would be better not to have steps of this awkward height here."

"There's no particular need to put wooden boards on the ground."

"Curtains might be more convenient than doors for dividing the rooms."

The Centaurs, who had initially been too polite to speak up, finally offered their opinions at Rasuti's and my strong insistence.

I certainly didn't want them suffering stress from living in unsuitable houses.

After putting together the Centaurs' opinions...

"Isn't that just a somewhat fancier stable?"

It was something like adding a kitchen and toilet to one corner of a stable.

"Well, yes, because our lower bodies are horses... our living habits tend toward those of horses, too..."

Looking rather embarrassed, Gruwald said I could just treat them as horses.

"Now that we've got the general direction figured out, let's hurry up and build along those lines."

Once we had decided on the form of the buildings, the rest was simple.

We began work on several houses at once. The cold wind felt increasingly biting, so we had to work like mad. Whether we could

finish before winter was still a question.

We devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to construction.

Under those circumstances, I called Gordon and Gruwald over.

We met in a newly completed house in Village Three.

No one had moved in yet, and there was no one else nearby.

"I have something very important to discuss, so I'd like you to listen carefully."

Both of them looked tense at my announcement.

"It's really important, so I'll get straight to the point. Gordon, can you Minotaurs mate with other races?"

"Mate? Huh?... Ah, sorry, um... We can, but there are some problems."

Gordon sounded a little more polite than before. Was that because he felt more secure after moving into Village Two? Yet it also made me feel as though there was more distance between us. Why was that?

Putting that question aside for now...

"What problems do you mean?"

"Um, well..."

Gordon seemed concerned about Gruwald beside him, and asked her to cover her ears first.

Then he told me about mating among the Minotaurs.

Well, mating itself wasn't a problem. The problem was size.

Simply put, it seemed Minotaurs had no choice but to find other Minotaurs? Or rather, anything else was completely impossible.

It wasn't the answer I had wanted most, but at least the Minotaur women wouldn't come asking me for that, so it was fine.

"Gordon, I'm sorry for asking such a personal question. But I understand now, so please build happy families among yourselves."

"Understood. However, um, there's one more thing..."

"What is it?"

"Since we have very few men... some of the women want to look outside our race. I don't know whether they would suit your tastes, Chief... but if you want them, we're willing to offer them to you."

"Wait, wait, wait."

"Yes?"

"I don't want them."

"Huh?"

"I'll be honest. I don't want them. I'm not being polite, modest, or indirect in any way."

Gordon looked troubled at my declaration.

"I'm not looking down on you. As I just said, please build happy families among yourselves. That's what I'm asking."

"I understand what you're saying, Chief, but some of the Minotaur women want to look outside our race..."

"Then go straighten them out."

"Huh?"

"Straighten out their thinking. I have absolutely no intention of asking you to offer anyone to me! If you want to repay me, work hard."

"...Understood."

"You still seem dissatisfied. Listen, the Dwarves are all men, and I couldn't make a move on the Lizardmen women, either. Do you understand what I'm saying? A race's standing won't fall just because they don't offer me women. And even if they do, I won't favor that race. Remember that."

"Understood."

After saying that, I had Gordon leave first. Next was Gruwald's turn.

"I'm very sorry to ask a woman this kind of question, but answering is part of your duty as your race's representative, so I hope you'll answer."

"What is your question?"

"Can Centaurs mate with humans?"

"...D-do you mean whether we can bear children for humans? Unfortunately, that's impossible."

Gruwald answered with a red face.

So the answer was that it was impossible. In other words... they wouldn't come to me.

OK! That's a wonderful answer!

"But, Chief, you needn't hold back. Simply seeking pleasure is still possible!"

"...Huh?"

"I-I-I may still be inexperienced, but I have heard a little about relations between men and women! Fortunately, I'm quite confident in my breasts!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"I've already steeled myself! Now, please give me your orders, Chief!"

"I'm not giving you any orders. And get rid of that resolve."

"Why?! It may sound strange for me to say this, but I'm a strong woman. I heard before that men enjoy violating strong women. Is that not true?"

"Who told you that? Besides, not every man is like that."

"In that case, why did you ask this question?"

"W-well, I should have explained my reasons first. I was specifically looking into this to prevent disputes between races, not to force any race to offer women."

"Prevent disputes?"

"Think about the future, and what might happen once the children grow up."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Y-you've thought so far ahead for us... Thank you so much."

"No, it's nothing. It's for my own sake, too... Well, since mating is impossible, please build happy families among yourselves."

"Yes! Understood!"

Yes, that was the kind of answer I wanted.

"Then, when may I visit your room, Chief?"

"Hmm?"

"When would it be best for me to wait in your room?"

"What are you talking about?"

"W-when shall we enjoy ourselves? Is deliberately making me say this part of setting the mood?"

"No! What nonsense are you talking about?! Didn't I just tell you to build happy families among yourselves?"

"Yes. I'm grateful for your kindness, Chief."

"Then what pleasure is there for us to have?"

"If our race cannot secure a place in the village, we won't be able to build happy families. To gain a stable position, someone must receive your favor. Therefore, I, unworthy though I am-Gruwald-volunteer."

Gruwald lowered her head.

"Ah... I just explained this to Gordon. Relax, you don't need to worry about that. Whatever I may think, I won't drive you out of the village. Settle down here without worrying."

"Even if you say that..."

"Mm..."

New residents had their own worries.

I had thought they were starting to adjust, but apparently it was still too soon. What a difficult problem.

In any case, I finally managed to persuade Gruwald, who was about to take off her clothes, and narrowly made it through the situation.

I really wanted someone to complain to.

Drunkenness and a reason to exist

"It's my husband's fault."

"My husband's to blame."

"Village chief, I really wish you would put a little more thought into things."

"I don't dislike this clumsy side of you, village chief."

Those remarks came from Lu, Tia, Ria, and Frau, in that order.

Also present were the dwarf Donovan, Naf, the representative of the minotaurs, Rasuti, the representative of the centaurs, and Mam, the representative of the tree elves.

Our discussion concerned Gordon of the minotaurs, Gruwald of the centaurs, and the tree elves.

In short, the new residents wanted to send women to me, and couldn't we find some way to talk them out of it? After everyone discussed it, this was the result.

"Now, now."

Holding a drink in one hand, Donovan tried to smooth things over.

"Everyone has their own opinion... but first, we need to look at the village chief, or rather, his position... no, I should say we first need to make them understand how much authority the village chief has in the village."

"Authority?"

"Mm-hmm. Come on, what I'm saying isn't that hard to understand."

Donovan drained his cup and poured himself another as he explained.

Incidentally, the drinks were on me.

"Let me give you an example... whose permission did we dwarves get to live in the village?"

"Mine, I suppose?"

"Mm-hmm. Then we Elder Dwarves began brewing alcohol for the village. Was that for our own benefit? Not really. After all, everything we brew has to be handed over to the village chief."

"True."

"Now, suppose the village chief wanted to drive us dwarves out."

"Huh?"

"It's just an example. Even if you wanted to drive us out, our brewing work would make you think twice."

Donovan raised the cup he had just filled and showed it to me.

"You aren't much of a drinker yourself, but plenty of people in the village need alcohol. If you drove us out, you could no longer enjoy what we brew... even if you could put up with that, the other villagers would probably be unhappy, and that might create unrest in the village. So, rather than forcing the dwarves out, wouldn't letting them stay be better for the village? That should be the conclusion you would reach."

Would I think that way?... Probably.

"In other words, the price we dwarves pay to live here is producing alcohol. Are we clear so far?"

"Yes, that's right."

"We're brewers. Miss Lu and Miss Tia are your advisers, as well as the mothers of your children. The Oni Race handles the housework. The high elves hunt and build. The lizard-

men provide labor. The beastmen do work that requires dexterity. Those girls of the Demon Race also help you with administrative affairs. The mountain elves handle smithing and making tools, and recently demonstrated their value by completing the waterwheel. As for Zabuton, Kuro, and the dragons, I don't need to say any more."

Donovan listed them all with ease.

"Everyone who has stayed in the village so far has contributed something or demonstrated their usefulness. The newcomers can't do that yet, so they feel uneasy. If you, the person in power, changed your mind, you could drive them out."

"No, I have absolutely no intention of driving anyone out..."

"I know your attitude, too. Basically, you turn no one away and stop no one from leaving. But they don't know your personality yet. After all, they haven't even known you for a hundred days."

Now that Donovan mentioned it... he was right.

"You're the highest authority in Big Tree Village and the new villages alike. I want you to be aware of that and act accordingly."

"Act accordingly?"

"Your current attitude makes people uneasy. You need to show them something to dispel that unease."

Donovan drained his cup and poured another.

"For example, consider the balance between the new residents' position and yours. Right now, no matter what order you give them, they can't refuse."

"..."

"There's a huge difference between 'being unable to refuse' and 'accepting while retaining the right to refuse.' Right now, you're treating them far too generously."

"Too generously?"

"Mm-hmm. You give them land where they can live in peace, delicious food, the alcohol we brew, cloth goods from Zabuton, and mountains of other supplies. Yet with winter approaching, they haven't paid anything in return. If they were scoundrels shameless enough to take advantage of others, that would be one thing, but they're all decent folk. Of course such generous treatment weighs on their consciences."

"Wait, I've already had them help with construction and all sorts of other work..."

"That construction was for houses they themselves would live in, and you've been feeding them for free the whole time. Does that work count as an equal return?"

"Now do you understand why they want to offer you women?"

"...Yes."

"And do you understand why you were scolded for refusing?"

"Mm."

"...Hahaha, it sounds like I'm lecturing you now, but I hope you understand what I mean. Apart from that, you can still do things your own way."

"Hmm?"

"Even if they want to offer you women, you don't have to accept. What matters is how you settle the issue."

"...Ah."

I had been far too full of myself.

"What result you want is up to your judgment... but please don't forget that they don't have the right to refuse."

"Right."

"...I only dare say things like this when I'm drunk, so please don't expect too much of me."

"I'm sorry."

"Ah... right, since Ria's here, there's something else I want to say."

"What is it?"

"You high elves are trying too hard at night. You should go a little easier on him."

Donovan, you...

Donovan's stock instantly skyrocketed in my mind.

"If you don't leave any openings, the village chief can't accept anyone else even if he wants to! At least consider how the other races feel."

Ah, no, couldn't you just tell them to let me rest at night?

"We'll discuss it properly with the other races. Anyway, um... we'll give it some thought."

I secretly struck a victory pose in my mind. I should give Donovan a Reward Medal... wait, no.

Alcohol was what I should give him.

Thank you! And please give the Oni Race the same reminder you gave Ria.

I hadn't been prepared enough.

Prepared to accept more than two hundred new residents at once.

I had thought giving them houses and food would be enough, but apparently I had been completely wrong. The new residents needed their own way of life, too.

After that, we returned to our original topic.

If we simply let Donovan finish talking and left it at that, all I would have gotten was a lecture, without solving anything.

Naf, Rasuti, and Mam each offered their opinions.

The result of our discussion-

"Stay in Big Tree Village?"

I summoned Gordon and Gruwald and made my announcement.

"Yes. It'll be hard work, but both your villages need to draw up rotation schedules and decide who to station here in Big Tree Village."

"Understood... but what will they do after coming to Big Tree Village?"

"Basically, they'll serve as liaisons who relay my orders to you. Also, I'm concerned that living in different villages might make it difficult to share information, so while they're in Big Tree Village, they'll record what happens here and tell your villagers about it when they return. Likewise, the people coming from your villages to replace them will bring me information about what's happening on your end."

Though messages would travel faster with the centaurs' speed, people would probably trust members of their own race more.

"They'll also do whatever work I assign them. This might not be the nicest way to put it, but they'll be like my attendants."

"Attendants?"

"That's right. When it's their turn to come here, they'll act as my helpers."

My solution was to request labor from the races living in the two distant villages.

"As for numbers, each village should have two people here at all times. You can decide how long each stay lasts, but you must report to me whenever someone arrives or leaves. Any questions?"

"When do we start?"

"Today. Choose your stationed representatives quickly."

"Stationed representatives?"

"Yes, that's what we'll call the people staying here."

"Understood. Where should they stay while they're in Big Tree Village?"

"For now, use the inn."

"For now?"

"Next spring, I'll remodel my house. Then there'll be rooms where the representatives from each village can stay overnight. They can't really be my attendants unless they're close by."

"Oh."

"So that means..."

I needed attendants.

Those attendants would eventually live in my house, too. So, if the villages really wanted to offer me women, I would accept them in that form.

However, how I treated those attendants was up to me. For now, I would only have them help me and work as liaisons.

Beyond that, it would be a matter of individual effort. If the villages wanted to use this to send women, that was fine.

This approach might have been childish, but it was the conclusion I-and everyone who discussed it with me-had reached.

"Now, besides that, the races in each village will also have other work to do."

"Of course."

"Gordon, your village will focus on agriculture. If you're interested in raising livestock, that's fine, too. I believe you used to raise silkworms, so if you have the capacity, find some to raise."

"Thank you. We'll focus on agriculture first and consider other things once we've found our footing."

Gordon bowed his head.

Until now, I had only asked questions or sounded them out, never actually ordered them to work. I needed to reflect on that.

I mustn't forget the principle of give and take. If I treated them well, I also had to ask for something in return.

It would be fine to withdraw the orders later, but I at least needed to tell them their current objectives.

"As for Gruwald's village... it isn't finished yet, but once it is, you should focus on agriculture, too. I'll also be relying on your speed to travel between the villages as regular messengers. You'll have to do it every day, regardless of the season or weather. It'll be hard work."

"Yes, please leave it to us."

"All right, we'll discuss the details of the work once the village is finished."

Gruwald bowed her head, too.

With that, this task was done.

There was still one more thing.

I called Ig over.

"About your village, Ig, I'm sorry, but we won't be building it."

"Ah!"

Startled, Ig sprouted vines from the upper half of her stump.

"Don't worry. It just means we won't build a separate new village for you. Basically, I'd like you to live in Big Tree Village."

"Huh? Oh, oh! We can live right here?"

"Yes. However, you'll still be responsible for your current warning duties stationed in the villages, and you'll also continue serving as streetlights at night."

"Understood."

"Since you need to be stationed in the villages, some of you may have to live apart. Will that be a problem?"

"No."

"I see. Also, I'm sorry, but I have to consider the minotaurs and centaurs who arrived before you."

Although there were differences in body size and lifestyles, Ig and her people, who arrived last, would get to stay in Big Tree Village, which might cause friction with the two races that arrived earlier but had to move elsewhere.

"What should I do?"

"I'd like you to serve as the caretaker of Village One for now."

"The caretaker of Village One?"

"Yes. It's already finished, and people could move in at any time... but there are no residents right now. If we leave it unattended, the buildings and facilities might deteriorate."

At present, Village One stood empty.

"Until other immigrants come here, I'd like you to look after the place. Combined with your warning and night-light duties, you'll be busy."

"I understand. Leave it to me."

The vines that had sprouted from her surprise earlier were now blooming.

"Good. I'm counting on you, then."

I'm exhausted. I really want to relax.

Ah, not yet.

The centaurs' village still wasn't finished.

Winter was just around the corner.

Side story: The God of Agriculture

Even gods made mistakes.

There was nothing shameful about that.

What was truly shameful was refusing to admit a mistake after making one.

I was the God of Agriculture.

As one of the God of Creation's descendants, I managed agricultural affairs in several worlds.

So I was fairly busy.

Yet even with such a busy life, I still had to return to the first world, where everything began.

To scold my father-the God of Creation.

"Y-you don't have to be so angry, do you?"

The God of Creation sat formally before me, sneaking glances at my expression as though trying to gauge the mood.

"Look, my legs have already gone numb."

Father deliberately rubbed his legs.

When he saw that I showed no response, he abandoned his formal sitting posture on his own.

"Did I say you could move?"

I glared fiercely at him.

"I'm sorry. I'll reflect on what I've done."

The God of Creation immediately resumed his proper sitting posture. So his legs going numb really had just been an act. Honestly.

My father, the God of Creation, had to manage countless worlds. I genuinely thought that was impressive.

After all, he managed thousands, even tens of thousands of times more worlds than I did. I had to admit that Father truly was remarkable.

However, he still had a flaw.

He was careless.

About once in every million times, Father would make a mistake out of carelessness.

According to Father, if he weren't careless, this world would only need one God of Creation, and no other gods would need to exist, so we shouldn't be too hard on him for his carelessness.

It was precisely because he was careless that we had been born. The purpose of our birth was to clean up after Father.

As long as we were all more careful than Father, there would be no problem.

Still, much as I wanted to take pride in my abilities, unfortunately, we were Father's children, after all.

Surpassing Father's position was impossible.

Although I had just scolded Father, he could erase me in an instant if he so wished. However, Father wouldn't do that. That was because of the rules he himself had established.

Father should have been free to do as he pleased, yet he had laid down shackles to restrain himself.

Well, it wasn't as though those rules meant I could freely berate Father. I had a legitimate reason to scold him, and I was prepared to do so even if it meant being erased.

"You snatched back the soul-management work you'd already handed over to your child, then carelessly made a mistake, and sent that soul to another world to make up for it. What were you thinking?"

"I-it was to save that soul."

"I thought so. But in that case, why did you send him somewhere so harsh?"

"I-I let my guard down for a moment."

Luckily, I had a gentle disposition. If Mother had been here, her knee would have greeted Father's face long ago.

Honestly. He had sent a soul to another world to save him, only to put him in danger instead.

That was clearly a mistake.

What was more, the person he had sent was a rare, promising individual who wanted to farm.

If I hadn't taken an interest and come specifically to check, this mistake would have been treated as though it had never happened.

As things stood, that person... seemed to be working very hard. He had even expanded his fields this much. How impressive.

Despite being surrounded by somewhat ferocious monsters and beasts, he had found a way to coexist peacefully with them, so a weight was lifted from my mind for the moment.

However, that didn't mean I was going to forgive Father.

That was because, when I had asked Father about this before, he had actually told me there wasn't a single problem.

Deception was unforgivable. There were clearly so many problems, yet he refused to admit it.

"Fine. Even if you were going to send him to another world, you should have at least given him a few abilities."

"Uh, he said himself that he didn't want any. I tried very hard to persuade him, you know."

"...Really?"

"That is absolutely not a lie. It's the honest truth."

"...All right."

Unfortunately, I could no longer intervene in this matter.

We couldn't provide any direct support to people Father had sent to other worlds. That was another of Father's rules.

If anyone could do something, it would only be gods who managed a domain as small as a single world-beings like my grandchildren or great-grandchildren...

But even they couldn't take direct action.

They had to act subtly and indirectly, to the point where, out of ten occasions, only once could it look as though they miiight have done something.

It was troublesome, but gods couldn't arbitrarily change worlds based on their own feelings, and there had never been a single successful example of it in the past.

That was the conclusion reached after several worlds had collapsed and we had reflected on it. It couldn't be changed.

What I could do was find the god managing that small world and strictly order... no, I couldn't do that either.

Although I outranked them, that would likewise be overstepping my authority.

Ah, come to think of it, my great-grandchild had caused trouble in that world before, too... ngh!

"Dad! Come on, why did you have to send him to that world?!"

"Ow, ow, ow! D-don't strangle me! I'm suffocating! And, my daughter, what happened to the way you were speaking?"

"Shut up! Why did you pick that world?! Tell me!"

"Ahaha... it was an accident."

My knee finally greeted Father's face.

Whew. Honestly.

Of all places, that world...

In the past, the actions of two gods had angered another god, breaking Father's rules. Those events had made that world particularly unstable.

Now, keeping that world stable required several times as many gods as other worlds.

Yet that world was still important, and had even developed its own unique character. Father had decided it would be too much of a waste to let it collapse, so he had taken special care of it.

Furthermore, because the rules had once been broken there, we were permitted to observe that world at irregular intervals.

In a sense, that world received attention from more gods, so it should now have been more stable than other worlds, and less likely to collapse...

Even if I wanted to have a say, I probably couldn't get my words through to them.

Why had he sent him to a place like that?

All I could do was continue watching over him.

Damn it, I wanted so badly to grant him "agricultural knowledge" and "plant knowledge."

Then he could grow large quantities of crops that hadn't originally existed in that world. Its agriculture would advance by leaps and bounds, and the number of farmers should increase dramatically...

I still couldn't resist the urge to lose my temper and give Father a beating.

"Hey, w-wait! If you're going to hit me, at least let me heal the nose you knocked crooked first..."

There was one other thing I simply had to say to Father.

"Why didn't you tell him I was female?"

"Huh?"

"He prays to me all the time, but the statue he carved is a man!"

"H-how is asking me about that going to help...?"

"If you'd casually hinted to him back then that I was female, this wouldn't have happened!"

I couldn't make him dream of my female form, either. As for a chance to correct it... perhaps asking that god of magic might work... it seemed hopeless.

Sigh.

I could only pray to Father that he would notice someday.